Silver and Orange
by SmkyRngr1986
Summary: Twin of "Konoha's Silver Shinobi" by Konerok Hadorak, with permission under Creative Commons license. Known pairings: Naru/Hina, Gin/Ran. TBD pairings: Sasuke/?, non-major characters. Rated M for graphic violence, language, and sexual themes/situations.
1. Chapter 1

**_Author's Note: While this is mainly a clone, I personally think of it as a fraternal twin since I plan to add my own ideas and twists. As always, we authors of do not own the intellectual property we imitate. _****_ Naruto_****_ owned by Masashi Kishimoto, _****_Bleach_****_ owned by Tite Kubo._**

**Chapter 1**

Naruto ran for his life, and this time it really seemed like it was his life that was on the line. Normally kids would chase him, or random drunken citizens. This time though, he had far more on his plate as a duo of shinobi led the chase to catch him. He was panting heavily, the sweat dripping from his face in huge globs. Every now and then a tear would fall from his eyes. He was so confused. What had he ever done? Every day the people of the village would abuse him one way or another, either mentally or sometimes physically for stealing food and cloths. But could they really blame him? He had no money, and he barely had enough to eat most days. Several times he'd gone a week without food. He was six, and by now he'd just accepted this was the way things were.

He was so desperate to get away he didn't notice the rock in his path and he ran full on into it. He instantly reached up to clutch his head and nose which when he pulled his hands back noticed it was now bleeding. It stung horribly and his head was no pounding, but the rushed footsteps behind him urged him to move on. He was absolutely terrified by ninja. Villagers he could handle; they didn't hit so hard. But shinobi he knew from stories that they would kill without mercy. As a child, he shouldn't have been able to understand the concept of killing, but he did, and he was afraid of it. Of death.

His only hope now was to get back to the village. The gates were already in sight, but he wasn't on the main road. After being chased off from the market place, he decided to go out to the forest to gather foods he thought he could eat. Sometimes he would eat poisoned fruit but even though his stomach would hurt badly, it always subsided an hour or so later. Sometimes he didn't have a choice but to eat something he knew was poisoned just to survive.

But while he was looking for something edible, the two ninja had shown up. They hadn't said a word the entire time they'd been chasing him. The only reason Naruto knew they were out to get him was when one lazily threw a knife right by his face, cutting his ear to scare him. Naruto knew he needed to run and did so. Naruto knew little of the ninja system, but he knew they were divided by ranks. He hoped the ones chasing him were lower level shinobi; he might be able to outrun them.

He looked back again to see two shadowy figures leaping after him. He was in the tall grass right now, and it was over his head in height. He wanted to sit down and hide, but that wouldn't work against a ninja. To him, ninja were liked gods, capable of doing anything, finding anyone, and destroying everything. The Hokage had always been nice to him, and told him that he would have ninja guarding him every day. Where they were now he didn't know, unless, dare he entertain the idea that the ninja behind him were _his_ guards?

He was getting closer to the gates now, and hope glimmered in his tear-stained eyes. He was sobbing as he ran, the emotions of fear and incomprehension overloading his six year old mind. But just as he was about to dash into the clearing, he heard a light whistling sound and a sharp pain emitted from his calf. He fell to the ground with a cry. Skidding to a halt, his hands instinctively reached down to his wounded leg. He wasn't looking at it as his eyes were shut in pain, but he could feel the problem. There was a knife imbedded deeply into it, and trying to pull it out only hurt even more.

The soft sound of grass rustling behind him made his wails cease in terror. Hesitantly, he dared to look behind him. He regretted it immediately. They stood there, arms crossed, walking casually up to his bloody form. One stopped at his feet while the other circled around to his head. Naruto didn't dare move. Like a wounded animal, he stayed absolutely still, tears still running freely down his face. The one in front of him leaned down on his haunches, and pulled out another knife. He held it up in front of him as if examining it, Naruto's eyes also looking at it, but for him it was in fear. The man grinned looking at it, and then his gaze fell on Naruto.

Immediately Naruto tried to scurry away on his hands and knee, but a quick stomp down from the other man behind him on his other legs halted his escape. The snapping of bone could be heard for several dozen feet. Naruto cried out in pain, not like he had with the knife in his leg. This was a completely different type of pain altogether.

"It's too bad you're just a kid. If you were a little older, you might have been able to get away." The one with the knife said as he brought the blade to Naruto's throat.

"W-w-w-hy a-are y-you d-d-doing t-this to m-me…?" He stuttered out through pain and tears. The man offered no answer but grabbed the blonde's hair and lifted it up, exposing his neck. He brought the knife to the skin and pressed the sharp edge against it. He grinned and began to drag the knife slowly across the boys' neck when his partner, the one whose foot was currently crushing Naruto's now broken leg, called out softly.

"Wait."

The man with the knife stopped just short of cutting the boys' jugular, but not before he had already started to slice over to it. "What is it?" He asked.

His partner looked over to him. "Can't you feel it? Something powerful is coming!"

The knife wielder instantly looked alert and wary, glancing around at his surroundings. He quickly dropped the boy's head and used the hand that had held it to smother the boys' cries. "How powerful?"

The other closed his eyes and brought his hands together in the ram seal. After a few tense seconds he opened his eyes again. "I can't gauge it accurately, but it's stronger than both of us!"

"Damn it. Guess we'll have to hurry this up." He raised his hand up and was ready to simply hack his way through the blonde's neck when his partner grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"No! If it's someone from the village and they find him dead and link him to us, we'll be killed ourselves! At least if he's still alive we won't be killed." The other wasn't happy about this but grunted in frustration and got up, kicking Naruto's body one last time for good measure before they both dashed away.

The forest was quiet now, except for the sobs that came out forcefully from the small boy. But even though battered, bloody, and bruised, he knew he needed to get into sight of some public place. The main road to the village was nearby, and he could try to crawl, but with a knife in one leg and a broken other, it would take quite a while before he got there. It was an agonizing fifteen minutes of dragging himself through the forest, over roots and dried leaves, leaving a trail of blood and dirt. When at last he could see the road, his spirit went into a frenzied fervor to get to safety. With one last shove of strength, he dragged himself onto the road. He could see the village gates in the distance from here, but he decided he was in far too much pain to try and make it. He would wait a while and see if anyone came by. His neck was bleeding, his leg was bleeding, his nose was bleeding, his left leg was broken he was sure, his right's muscle was probably shredded, and his meager little arms were weak with exhaustion.

He simply lay there, crying in abrupt sobs. He was scared and hurt, and no one was around to care for him. He was sure this was _not_ the way other six year olds were treated. But what had he done? All he wanted was to have a normal life and be friendly. He had never done anything to make people angry, as least as far as he knew. He didn't know why everyone hated him. Presently, soft footsteps could be heard coming from behind him. Even though he was six, he was smart enough to know people not from the village would be nice to him, for some reason. So the fact that someone was coming from the opposite direction _toward_ the village meant they were visitors. But he didn't dare think they were ninja or he'd probably go into a fit of hysterics.

The footsteps grew louder and louder until the ceased to exist. He hesitantly raised his head to look at the stranger in front of him. "Hey now, that ain't right." The voice was smooth and flowing, and carried and air of humor to it. Naruto's tear filled eyes tried to focus on the man's face, but all he got was a blurry fuzz. All he could see was a basic outline of the man's body and basic colors. He wore all white, from what Naruto could see, and he had fair, un-tanned skin. But the one thing that stood out to Naruto from the man's attire was his silver hair.

The man stooped down to examine the pathetic heap, turning the boy over until he was lying on his back. Naruto hissed as the knife in his leg was pushed further in, and he did his best to position it so the knife wouldn't be affected. The man seemed surprised by Naruto's condition and muttered something under his breath. The man seemed to have taken pity to him, which for Naruto was a good thing. The man reached down and gently brushed a finger or two over his face, wiping away some of the tear stains.

Naruto heard some shuffling and the cried out in pain as the knife was removed from his leg. "They sure did a number on ya. Whoever y'are." Naruto thrashed in pain and tried to get away from the man, but his flailing hands were caught in the man's own. "Don't worry, I ain't here ta hurt ya. That's the worst it's gonna hurt, 'K?"

His accent was strange; Naruto had never heard of it before. But regardless, it held a soothing tone to it, and Naruto willed his body to relax, which it did slowly. The man grasped Naruto's sliced up leg and held a hand above the wound. Instantly Naruto felt relief wash through him. What he didn't know was that the wound was slowly closing and repairing itself. _'This kid's got a neat little body there. The wound shouldn't be closing that fast even with me fixing it,'_ the man thought with surprise. But t didn't show on his face. Naruto's head was resting on the dirt path, and he didn't seem to mind the rough ground. The calm sensation in his leg vanished but he felt no pain after word. He opened his eyes to see the man's hand now resting above his neck.

"Hold still now." Naruto did so and the relaxing feeling returned. Soon it disappeared too, and again he couldn't feel anything from his neck. No pain at all. The man went down to his other leg and examined it. Broken, as he had guessed.

"So what's your name kid?" The man asked lightly. Even though Naruto had been through such a major incident, he seemed at peace with this man. He didn't know why. He reached up to wipe away the water from his eyes. "…U-uzumaki Naruto…"

He looked at the man for the first time with fresh eyes. Now that he could see clearly, he found the man wore a sort of formal white outfit that Naruto had never seen before. The man's face formed in a permanent grin, his eyes closed in the smile. His hair was silver still, but it actually held a sort of purple tint to it.

"Naruto huh? That's neat little name ya got there. Mine's Gin…" The man held a hand out to the blonde. "…Ichimaru Gin."

Naruto looked up at the man, not quite surprised his name was "silver." He accepted his hand, with some hesitance, and the man swung the surprised boy up onto his back. "So, mind tellin' me why yer so beat up?"

Naruto didn't answer at first. Instead he merely sunk his head down as if trying to escape attention. "…I-I… I don't know why."

Gin for his part took the answer without batting an eye. "So where ya live then?"

"…I don't know." Naruto said again solemnly. The man's face changed, instead of a smile, it changed into a surprised frown, but his eyes remained closed. "Don't ya have family or somthin'?"

Naruto shook his head. Gin turned back to the road that Naruto now realized was leading back to the village. Instantly the boys' blood went cold and he began to shiver. "D-don't…"

Gin looked behind his shoulder in confusion. "What'd ya say?"

"D-don't… p-please don't take me back there!" Naruto whispered while holding on tightly to the stranger.

"Don'tcha wanna go back?" Gin asked.

"No!" Naruto answered a bit more forcefully than he intended. Gin looked at the boy surprised. "Well I can't fix that leg by myself. Yer gonna need a hospital fer sure."

Naruto looked all the more terrified and he clung to the man with all his might. "NO! I don't wanna go back there! Never again!"

"O-o-ok then. You don't have to go back." He said quite surprised at the boys' reaction. "Sheesh, didn't think kids were _that_ afraid of hospitals…" he commented to himself. _'But I really can't fix that leg. Maybe I can just leave him with someone.'_

"Tell ya what… We go to the hospital and I stick around until ya get out."

Naruto looked skeptical and was tempted to outright deny him as quickly as he had before. But something about the man's face, despite its cunning look, seemed to make it hard to say no.

"…P-promise?" Naruto asked quietly, his eyes shining with hope.

"Promise." Gin raised his left hand behind his shoulder and extended his pinky. Naruto looked at it in surprise. He knew that linking pinkies and shaking was like making and ultra-super-cool promise that you can't break, but he'd only ever seen other kids do it. He'd never done it himself. Shakily extending his own hand he reached out with his pinky finger and linked it with the man's own slender one.

"_Yubikirigenman. Usotsuitara, harisenbonnomasu. Yubikitta,*"_ Gin sang out in a melodious voice. Slipping his finger out from Naruto's, he picked up Naruto's broken leg again by the thigh and he continued onward. "If I break my promise I have ta drink a thousan' needles. Now I can't break it, can I?"

Naruto seemed to settle at this. Even though the shirt below him was stained with a little blood from his nose, he found the man's shoulder extremely comfortable. Closing his eyes, he relaxed into Gin's body. Unbeknownst to him, Gin's smile had faded into a scowl and his cyan eyes blazing.

When they reached the gate the two guards nearby rose from their seats in surprise, but didn't stop him. His features had returned to their normal state by then, and he wasn't surprised to see the strange glances from the guards. But as he traveled further into town, he received more and more glances, and to his surprise, glares from the villagers. They all seemed to look at him in disgust, but when his squinting eyes turned their way, they averted their own.

'_That ain't weird at all is it?'_ He thought sarcastically. He stepped to the side where a random woman was sitting on her porch.

"'Scuse me, miss?" There was no way she couldn't have heard him since she'd been staring at him for a while. When he saw he had her attention, he continued. "Mind pointin' me in the right direction?"

The woman looked from his smiling face to the boy on his back. Her eyes narrowed. "What are you looking for?"

"Hospital." He said, his expression unchanged.

Her frown turned into a scowl when she realized he was taking the boy to the hospital, for whatever reason she didn't care. "For that thing?" She asked pointing at his burden.

"Mind rewordin' that question?"

"Not really."

"Ya sure?"

"Positive."

They both found themselves in a stare down with each other. The woman's scorn-filled eyes looked on disdainfully at both him and the blonde. But as she looked at the sliver haired man, his squinting eyes, even though closed, seemed to pierce her resolve.

Turning her gaze from him she spoke. "Just keep heading that way," she said pointing down the road he'd been on.

"Thanks," he said after a dangerous pause. And he continued on. Sure enough, a great many glares later, he came to the hospital. Walking in, he addressed the secretary thus.

"Sorry ta bug ya, but this kid's got a broken leg I can't fix. Mind findin' someone to help out?"

The secretary looked up at him and smiled, but when she spotted the boy on his back, she scowled, something Gin found this village far to willing to dish out at the child. "I'll see if we have a room available."

"Doesn't look like yer very busy," he commented, looking at the open magazine on the desk.

"Looks can be deceiving," she retorted with a fake smile.

His grin grew for some reason and the clerk was obviously disturbed by it. "I wonder 'bout that…" and he approached the desk even closer. The secretary was surprised when he reached out with a lanky hand and brushed his fingers over her cheek, that insane grin still on his face.

"I really hope yer lying…" he began. "Cuz if you are, then I'll be able to remove another pesterin' person from this world, got me?"

The threat did not go unnoticed and the woman shivered in fear and bead of sweat dripped down her cheek. "I-I'll find something for him," she stammered out before using the intercom to call a doctor. One came by soon enough; he was dressed in full white including a strange hat that covered his entire head. He looked at Gin and Naruto and walked up briskly. "I'm Kizuki Guun, follow me please."

As the man turned away Gin threw a victorious glance at the woman at the desk that he was sure she didn't miss and followed after the doctor. They went up the stair until they were on the third of four floors. Not too far down the hallway, he stopped and gestured to a room. Gin stepped in and looked around. It was sparse but not overly so. It had its tones of brown and beige, brown from the wooden furniture and beige from the walls and floor. The hospital bed was stark white, but it did match the room.

"Bring him over here please." Gin did as he was told and laid Naruto on the bed, making sure to keep his broken leg from sitting wrong.

"Please describe the injuries," the doctor asked briskly.

"Broken left leg."

The doctor looked at it and nodded. "Alright." He went over to an intercom and pressed a button calling for two nurses to assist him. They came in presently, one woman and one man, and he explained the situation. The newcomers frowned, but Gin couldn't tell if it was at the boy or at the wound. He guessed the former.

The nurse and second doctor worked on setting the leg while the doctor worked on healing it. Gin may not have been a doctor, but he knew when they were doing a good job, and they were only doing a decent one. Naruto yelped suddenly in pain and the male nurse held him down and let the second one handle setting the bone. Naruto suddenly began thrashing when he saw the doctors around him, having fallen asleep on Gin's shoulder. Even though he was held down, his eyes bounced in his head, looking around the room until they landed on Gin over to the side. He instantly began to calm down and relax despite the pain in his leg.

For Naruto, he didn't know why, but even though he'd never been able to trust any adult or age-mate before, he felt as if this Gin would be someone he could believe in. It was almost as if there was an invisible connection between them. _'We've only just met, but…'_ He couldn't explain the feeling of similarity he had. But the man had kept his promise, and that was more than anyone else had done. There was a twinge of pain, but he didn't feel it.

The procedure lasted for about half an hour and when they were done, Naruto was as good as new aside for the splint on his leg he would have to wear for a few weeks, or so the doctor said. The nurses cleared out as soon as he was done and seemed all too eager to do so.

The doctor however stuck around the make sure everything was all right. "Well, you should be fine. Just lay off of it for a few weeks and it'll be good as new."

Naruto nodded numbly.

The doctor took one last look at the various instruments in the room, and then turned to walk out. As he passed Gin, who was leaned up against the door frame with his hands in his pockets, the silver haired man stopped him.

"Mind havin' a little chat with me?" He asked without looking at the man, but seemed to be looking at the orange clad boy on the bed. The doctor looked at the man and nodded. They both stepped out of the room and shut the door.

"That kid… What's his deal?" Gin asked.

The doctor looked at him surprised. "You must be a foreigner. A noble probably?" He asked, judging from his all white robes.

Gin made no indication as to who he was. "Maybe. But answer the question."

The doctor looked at him hard and sighed, getting nowhere form scrutinizing the man. "I can't tell you. It's a law that cannot be broken, and if I do tell you… Well, let's just say it's not something worth dying for."

Gin raised an eyebrow but said nothing. The doctor bowed. "If that's all, then the both of you can leave any time you wish."

Gin looked back at the slumbering blonde. There were few times he let his mind wander, but he allowed himself the pleasure of it this time. There was just something about the boy that made him want to protect him. Maybe it was just human instinct, but it made him want to be something to the poor boy. For whatever reason, the village he belonged to didn't hold him in high regard and Gin was far too noble to allow child abuse to go on when he could have stopped it.

Suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. _'Hmm… That_could_work…'_

Naruto woke to the faint sounds of rustling paper. "Ah, you're awake."

Naruto turned his head to see Gin sitting in one a chair next to him reading a book. It had an orange cover with a big red circle with a line through it on it. "Ichimaru-san…? Where am I?" He asked groggily.

"Yer in a hospital." Naruto sat up instantly and looked around in fear.

Gin almost chuckled at the child reaction. "Don't freak out on me already kid." Naruto looked at him in surprise.

"You broke your leg earlier, 'member?"

Naruto thought back to earlier that day and indeed did remember. Gin almost smacked himself as the child curled into a ball and held onto himself.

Gin let the silence go on for several seconds before he spoke. "Hey kid, you got any parents?" Naruto's silence was his answer.

Gin pressed on. "Shouldn't you be in an orphanage or something then?"

Naruto shook his head and barely mumbled, "They kicked me out," to which Gin both wanted to frown and grin at. He stood up and pulled Naruto from the bed and onto his back. Naruto let out a surprised exclamation, but Gin merely carried him out the door and down the stairs.

When they reached the reception area, Gin didn't even spare a glance at the clerk but walked right on out. The gleaming afternoon sun warmed their faces as it shined brightly down on both of them. Gin looked around as Naruto snuggled into his shoulder; he'd had a long hard day, and his body was probably tired from post-shock.

Deciding to let sleeping kids lie, he continued on the road until he saw a large red building in the distance; his destination. Unfortunately he was tired of walking. Not so much for the stress of it, but from the consistent dirty looks. Looking around him he decided _'might as well'_ and vanished in a blink. The next second he was at the doors of the giant red building. Near the top there was a large golden circle with the kanji of "Fire" on it.

Of course he didn't land directly in front of the building. That would only scare people out of their pants. No, he landed nearby. Walking up to the door of the building, it was opened by a middle-aged man and he stepped inside.

It was fairly comfortable, with the air conditioning running that kept the room temperature at a comfortable level. There were various potted plants hanging from the ceiling, and several indoor trees, though they were so spaced it that it kept from looking like a jungle. In the center of the room, up against the wall was a secretary's desk. Behind it was a woman filing her nails while looking at a book in front of her.

"Hey there!" Gin called out to the woman. She looked up and smiled at him, not noticing the orange clad six year-old on his back. "Hello! How can I help you?"

"Well, I'm new 'round here and I kinda wanted to see the guy up top."

The woman nodded, noticing his foreign attire. "I don't suppose you have an appointment, do you?"

Gin laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hehe, nah I don't. But it is kind of important, so fast would be great."

The woman smiled and nodded. "Well normally you'd need an appointment but you look important, and since it's a slow day, I'm sure the Hokage will be thankful for a distraction from his work. Up the stairs on the left, you can't miss it."

Gin gave her a loose fingered salute. "Thanks," and he moved on up the steps to the right of the desk and continued until he found the appropriate door. He rapped his knuckles on the door lightly.

"Come in." he opened the door and looked around. The floor was green with tan walls. There were bookcases along some of the walls and a set of panoramic windows that showed a great view of the village. In front of those windows sat an old man in white robes. There was a stack of papers on one side of the desk and he was currently reading out of a file folder. He looked up from it to see Gin and took on a surprised expression.

"Oh forgive me, I wasn't aware I had a meeting at this time." He said as he placed the file aside and folded his hands on the desk. "So what can I do for you?"

Gin chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "Actually, you didn't have an appointment. This is sorta one of those spur o' the moment things."

At this moment the old man seemed to have taken notice of his passenger and the look in his eyes went from amused to worried. "What happened to him?"

It wasn't so much a question as it was a demand, and Gin had to admit he felt compelled to answer him. "W-well, I found him outside the town. He was pretty beat up so I took him to the hospital. He had a broken leg I couldn't fix so the doctors did it."

"When was this?" Again, it was more of a demand than a question.

"I found him earlier this morning."

The old man leaned back in his chair, an expression of contemplation crossing his features. He finally spoke. "My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage of Konoha. What's yours?"

"Ichimaru Gin, Thir-…" He cut off abruptly and Sarutobi raised an eyebrow.

"Nev'r mind." Gin's facial expression as it always was, impassive, frozen in that permanent smile of his. Internally he corrected himself. _'That title doesn't exist here. Not that it belongs to me anyway.'_

"I see. Then Ichimaru-san, what business do you have in Konoha, and what can I do for you?" Sarutobi asked curtly.

Gin chuckled. "Well, about that…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The morning light crept in through the windows and stained the blonde haired boy in its glorious light. Naruto opened his eyes to see the ceiling he'd grown accustomed to. It was the ceiling of his own apartment that he'd lived in since he was removed from the orphanage. He sighed and rubbed his eyes of their drowsiness. He'd had a nightmare again, but it ended on an OK note this time. At least he'd been saved. He threw the thin, ragged sheets off his young body and swung his feet over the side. He was clad only in a pair of green boxers that were way too big for him; his other option was a pair of boxers that were way too small for him, and he didn't quite like those, but he couldn't afford to throw them out.

But just as he was getting up to stand, he felt an intense flare of pain from his left leg. He fell to one knee while he gripped the stinging limb. He looked at it carefully. Nothing _looked_ wrong with it. Maybe it was just a joint cracking or something.

Standing up, ignoring the pain, he moved over to the bedroom door and opened it, walking into his empty kitchen. It was small and cramped, with broken dishes and tableware lying around. He knew he'd need to clean it up eventually, but he kept on putting it off.

His stomach growled. _'I know I know. You're hungry. But I don' have any food…'_ He looked around for any sort of scrap of food and saw nothing. He sighed I disappointment. He'd need to forage again today. He went back to his room and took his cloths from where they were folded on the floor and put them on, not realizing the fact that he never folded his cloths. He walked over to the front door and opened it wincing at the bright sun on the horizon.

_'Now where do I look for breakfast today?'_

"My my, you're up early." A voice said casually from beside him. Naruto blinked in surprised and looked to his right to see a man dressed fully in white, silver-purple hair and a permanent smile on his face, and squinting eyes that could probably pierce metal.

"G-Gin-san?" He nearly shouted in surprise as he stumbled back.

Gin smiled wider and laughed. "Yup! It's me."

Naruto suddenly realized his dream that night wasn't a dream at all, but rather areal event. Taking all this in, all he could ask was, "W-why are you here, Gin-san?"

Gin looked out to the sunrise and brushed the seriousness of the boy off nonchalantly. "Ah nothin'! Just makin' sure you got a good night's sleep, considerin' your exciting day yesterday."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "S-so you stayed up all night standing outside? Just to protect me…?"

Gin looked at him again and smiled… wider anyways. "That a problem?"

"W-well, n-not really. But didn't you even sleep a little bit?" Naruto asked. While the man's presence felt familiar and reassuring for some reason, Naruto still felt somewhat intimidated by… well, he couldn't quite put his finger on what _exactly_ was scary about him. It was almost as if he was familiar and intimidating at the same time.

Gin shrugged. "Sleep? What's that?" Naruto didn't know what to say to that, so his stomach took over, speaking in the only way it knew how; it growled loudly. Naruto's face went red from embarrassment and he looked away.

Gin only laughed and stepped over to the boy, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "If my instincts are right, I'd be guessing you're hungry, right?" he questioned playfully. Naruto sheepishly nodded his head.

"Well, let's get you something to eat then. Know any good places? " He gestured for Naruto to lead them both, but the boy was hesitant. Gin noticed. "What's wrong?" He asked, his smile turning into a confused frown as he bet over to be on eyelevel with the blonde.

Naruto unconsciously gripped the bicep of his left arm with the hand of his right. "Well… I do know a few places that seem nice, but that's only because they never let me in them."

Gin's frown seemed to deepen at this. There was a pregnant silence for a moment before Gin straightened and slapped Naruto lightly on the shoulder. "C'mon, anywhere you wanna go! My treat!"

Naruto looked blank for a moment before his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "R-really? You really mean it?"

"Hehe, you betcha!" Gin said tucking his hands into the opposite sleeve of his robes.

Naruto was ecstatic with joy, which is why when he grabbed Gin's sleeve to lead them to the dining street of the village, Gin's smile turned into a scowl. _'Why should a kid be excited about going to a simple restaurant? I guess what the Hokage said was true… '_

He recalled that part of the talk he'd had with the old man the other day.

_Flashback_

_"Gin-san, you'll find that Naruto, while rambunctious and happy, really isn't so." The old man's face was set in a sad sort of state. Gin's expression as one of surprise and curiosity._

_"Wuddya mean Hokage-han*?"_

_Sarutobi took a long inhale from his pipe and continued. "Seeing how things are now, I suppose it's fine for you to know. Naruto has a… a creature of mass destruction sealed within him. You might know it as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. An unfortunate accident happened the day he was born that claimed the life of both his mother and father. That was the sudden appearance of the Kyuubi. It attacked the village and through the sacrifice of the Yondaime Hokage, the beast was sealed inside Naruto to protect the village. The Kyuubi is a Bijuu, and the strongest there is to boot. Most can be sealed away temporarily in special objects, but not the Kyuubi. It_ has_ to have a human container. Naruto just happened to be born on that day and he was the prime subject for it. He would be able to grow with the demon and develop a type of symbiotic relationship with it. At least, that was the thinking of the Yondaime. Unfortunately the people of the village remember the attack, and condemn him for holding the thing responsible for it. All the deaths, all the emotional pain, all the damages… they pin it all on Naruto now…" His eyes were closed at that point._

_He looked sad right then. Maybe it was Gin, but he could have sworn that a shadow of regret passed over the man's face. "…I see. So that's why he was attacked."_

_"Most likely. There are a few other reasons that can't be ruled out, especially at his age, but they are less likely."_

_" His age? "_

_The Hokage looked back at Gin. "Ah, right, you wouldn't know. Naruto is of the age where he could join the Ninja Academy. In other words, he's ready for training. There are many parties in the village would want him purely for his potential as a killing and destructive machine."_

_Gin didn't say anything to that. Both were silent for a while before Sarutobi brought a smile to his face before continuing. "I'm glad to know you'll be taking good care of him."_

_Gin didn't smile now. There was no possible way he could. "I owe it to 'im. After all, I was the one who-…"_

"We're here Gin-san!"

Gin was shaken from his memories by Naruto's cheerful voice. They were standing in the middle of a large street with eateries on either side of them for the whole length of the road. Gin was somewhat amazed. There were so many choices that Gin couldn't believe it. There were nearly twenty food shops within sight alone.

"Eheh… Which one is it?" Gin asked, sweat-dropping at the strangeness of the scene. Naruto still looked a bit unsure about going near them, but with Gin by his side, he felt empowered.

"That one! It always smelled good when I went by it." He pointed to a fancy looking restaurant and Gin nodded.

"Well, let's not be waitin'! Get in there!" Gin said, giving Naruto a small nudge. He had an inkling as to what was going to happen now as he followed behind the boy. And he wasn't incorrect. As soon as Naruto go within ten feet of the entrance, a man standing outside, the man who took parties and seated them, started yelling at Naruto.

"Hey! You brat, how many times do we have to kick you out? We've told you to scram!" Naruto saw something metal flash behind the waiter and he saw a sort of baton used to quell riots when lethal force wasn't permitted. Naruto about jumped back and ran away when Gin stepped up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Go on in," he said as if he'd not even noticed the waiter standing there. Naruto looked at him uncertainly, but nodded as he saw Gin's smiling face. He hesitantly stepped inside while the waiter was distracted by Gin's presence.

"Hey you little shit! Get back out here!" he screamed at the blonde child. But he'd already gone inside. The waiter took the baton and made after him, but Gin stopped him with a hand to the shoulder.

"Ya don't wanna do that."

The man brushed his hand off glared at him. "No, I'm pretty sure I do."

"Your funeral," Gin said simply. Shoving his hands into his pockets, his grin somehow taking on a smug appearance.

The man made to go inside after Naruto, but paused for a moment before looking back at Gin. "…Why don't I want to be doing it?" He asked suspiciously.

"Ah, well that's the clincher." Gin withdrew his right hand and with it came a scroll he had been given by the Hokage. With a small flick of his wrist, the scroll was tossed to the waiter. He caught it easily enough and opened it, reading what was written within. The man's scowl grew in intensity before he looked that man with wide eyes. "…You…?"

Gin smirked and brought a finger up to his lips. "That's not somethin' you want to be sharin' either. Keep it to yourself. But the first part of that letter, by all means, spread that around."

The man looked at Gin dazed. As if in disbelief, he looked at the scroll again and then back at Gin. Gin simply walked past him, plucking the scroll from the man's stunned hands and going inside. Within, Naruto wasn't getting a much better treatment. People were glaring at him, though when Gin walked up and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and looked at them, they instantly went back to their meals. The waiter from outside came in and directed them to their seats. "M-my name is Zoshi, I'll be taking care of you this evening. Order whenever you're ready," he said while handing them both a menu.

Gin took it and flipped through it. Looking over the edge, he could see Naruto was having some trouble. "We're gonna need a few minutes," Gin told Zoshi, who nodded, bowed at the waist, and took his leave.

Gin looked at his menu and decided on some eggs and a simple salad. Naruto seemed to scrunch his eyes are his menu, as if he were having trouble reading it, which he was.

"What's wrong there Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Gin with an embarrassed and frustrated expression. "I don't understand what half of these are…"

"Oh, we'll just read the little description that tells you what's in it."

Naruto looked back at the menu and saw that there was indeed, in smaller print, a description of what each meal contained. The waiter came back and took Gin's order. Then he turned to Naruto who ordered ramen with a side of red bean paste.

_'Not the healthiest meal he coulda chosen…' _Gin thought.

The waiter took their menus and left. Gin rested his chin on his hands, on folded under the other and stared intently at the boy. Naruto looked nervous, not so much from Gin's attention but from something else entirely. He kept looking around at his surroundings and fidgeting. He rubbed his hands together in between his legs as he did so.

Gin decided he would try and get Naruto talking; he remembered the Hokage saying Naruto was more at peace when he talked. "So Naruto, tell me about yourself. You got any hobbies?"

Naruto looked at him for a moment before shrugging. "Not really… I'm sure there are things I _would_ like, but I don't know what they are."

Gin "hmm"-ed and scratched the side of his head. Then he thought of something. "The Hokage also said yer scared of ninja."

Naruto looked surprised but nodded solemnly. "They scare me…"

Gin smiled at the boy reassuringly. "Well, I've learned two things in my life. One, face yer fears." Naruto looked at him, knowing what he meant. Hokage-jiji had said something similar a long time ago.

"An' two…" Gin began, an image of Aizen flashing through his mind. "…know your enemy as yerself."

Naruto looked up at him surprised. He'd never heard that saying before. "What does that mean?"

"It's simple." Gin said in a light tone. "The best way to know your enemy…" He reached over and placed a hand on the blond boys' messy blonde hair. "Is to become yer enemy."

Naruto sat shocked for a moment before realizing the gravity of Gin's words. "Y-y-you mean I s-should become a n-ninja?"

Gin only smiled wider in response. He retracted his hand and leaned back in the booth. "Just givin' ya some friendly advice. What you do with it is up ta you."

Naruto thought about it for a minute. Sure he was scared of ninja, and becoming one was a scary thought too. But becoming a ninja meant that he would be afraid of himself. _'But you can't be afraid of yourself… can you? You'd have to _not_ be scared of yourself to get anything done.'_ Realization hit him like a ton of bricks._' That's right… If I become a ninja, then I won't be scared of them anymore!'_ His face lit up like a light.

Gin saw it and knew what it meant. Sure there were other ways of getting Naruto over his fears of ninja, but this was the most direct way. Plus, he would need boy to be able to take care of himself when he wasn't here.

By this time the food came. And they happily dug in. Naruto seemed to gobble it down heartily, and it made Gin want to laugh at how the boy was loving it all. When they had finished, Naruto sat back and sighed in contentment. "That was the most I've eaten in a month!"

Gin did not let that comment escape his realization, considering Naruto only ordered one meal. _'One meal a month, huh?'_ He didn't voice it, but that was pathetic by _anyone's_ standards. Gin let them both sit for a while to digest the food before playing some money on the table and motioning Naruto to follow him out. The glares they received were easily ignored, since Naruto was so happy.

They stepped back out into the street and Gin looked at the sky. It was probably around nine or ten o'clock in the morning. _'Oh yea this place has watches down they? I should probably get one,'_ He mused as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Ano, Gin-san…?"

Gin looked down from where he was staring at the sky to see Naruto fidgeting again. But now he _did_ seem uncomfortable with the ex-Third captain. "Nani?"

"Well… Um… I-if you don't mind me asking…" the young child began, not looking Gin in the eyes, but rather finding his feet more interesting to look at as he brushed them one over the other. "…Why are you being so n-nice to m-me?"

Gin had expected this question, but at the same time, was not completely prepared to answer it. "Well…" Gin began after a tense moment of silence. "Ahh… Hell wit' it. I asked the Hokage to become yer guardian."

Naruto's eyes suddenly shot up and looked at the smiling man. "Y-you mean you'll be l-like my dad…?" Naruto asked almost afraid the answer would be no.

Gin started in surprise as he thought about that, his uncanny smile vanishing. "Y-yeah, I guess I kinda will be." He hadn't thought about it like that. But it wasn't a bad thing. He hadn't thought about how Naruto might take it; at least, not like that.

All of a sudden, a great force smashed into Gin. He "oof"-ed loudly in surprise before he realized that the force was the little blonde boy who had his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He was crying softly, small shining tears sliding down his cheeks.

"T-thank you s-sooo m-m-much!" Naruto managed to cry out between sobs of happiness.

Gin was taken quite aback by this. He hesitantly, more out of uncertainty than anything, placed his left hand atop the boy's head, which barely reached his neck and the other over the boy's back.

"Hey hey, it's ok kid. Ain't no need to cry on me," he joked aloud, as he ruffled the boy's hair soothingly.

Naruto slowly pulled back and wiped the tears away while continuing to sob. He didn't know where the emotion came from all of a sudden. All he knew was that he couldn't stop them. "I-I'm s-sorry Gin-s-san… I c-couldn't h-help it…" He continued to try and clear his eyes of tears. "I-it's just that n-nobody's ever e-ever tried to be my f-friend, let alone t-t-this..." He sniffled in joy and disbelief.

Gin took on an understanding look and smiled softly. He bent down to the boy's level. "Hey, look at me…" He brought Naruto's chin up to look him in the eyes. "… no one deserves ta be alone. Don'tcha think?" He grinned as Naruto's eyes widened a little. But he recovered and jumped into Gin's arms again, now wrapping them around the man's neck. They stayed like that for several minutes, ignoring the strange stares they received. Gin personally was well beyond his comfortable level, but Naruto needed this, so he wouldn't deny him.

But all things come to an end. He broke from the weeping child and smiled at him. "That's enough cryin' fer now. We got a day ta spend!"

"O-ok…" He wiped the last of the tears from his face. When he once again looked Gin in the eyes, the Shinigami could literally see the joy in them. "So what are we gonna do?"

Gin put a hand to his chin in thought. He looked down at Naruto. He had an idea. He snapped his fingers and made a face, standing up to full height. "We're goin' shoppin'."

Naruto blinked at him in surprise. "…Huh?"

Gin chuckled at the boy. "You, me, a whole day of getting what YOU want and need. You up fo' that?"

Naruto beamed at his new guardian and nodded fervently. "You bet Gin-san!"

"Hehe, just Gin," the silver haired man said.

Naruto nodded readily. "You bet Gin!"

Gin ruffled his hair and patted him on the back, leading them both to the shopping area of Konoha's main street. The nice thing about living in Soul Society for so long is that the great wealth as a captain meant a whole lot more in this world. The SS currency compared to this one had a 1:3 ratio. So gin was essentially paid triple what anyone in this world was. He had average captain-class income, but here that was like king's money.

It came in handy often. The shopping street had tons of stores, and Gin headed straight for one of the clothing stores. "Why do e have to shop for cloths first Gin-nii-san?"

Gin looked at him curiously. _'Nii-san? Well, it's better than tou-san... Don't think I'd ever get used to that.'_ He smiled as he held the door open for the child. "We'll get the boring part over and done wit' first. Then we can do more fun shoppin' after, 'k?"

Naruto nodded his head fervently and stepped inside.

* * *

Naruto and Gin both walked out of the final store, each holding several boxes. Naruto was grinning ear to ear with a smile Gin would envy. But it made the former captain happy that he was having so much fun. He probably hadn't been given anything of worth in months, maybe even years. They'd bought tons more clothes for the six year old to wear, considering the only thing he had was those weird orange and blue shirt and shorts.

Naruto couldn't wait until tomorrow to try the new clothes on. Of course they'd done more than clothes shopping; they also bought some new furniture for his apartment, thought they would have to move them in some other day.

The sun was beginning to disappear behind the horizon by the time they got back to Naruto's apartment. Naruto set a handful of bags down and opened the door for his new protector. He managed to force his open and ran inside with his things. Gin wasn't far behind and he deposited the bags on the small table.

Naruto began pulling out and putting away the series of clothing he'd been bought. Gin had definitely had an amusing day that was for sure. The sheer joy on Naruto's face as he looked through the store for something he'd wear, while Gin showed the owner the same scroll he'd shown the waiter. It contained information, or rather orders from the Hokage to allow Naruto and anyone with him to shop for free. Gin however decided to pay them anyway. There was no need to piss off the shopkeepers too much. That mostly applied were Gin not there. Hiruzen had told him that the two elders who acted as a council would probably not approve of that action. But he wasn't Hokage for nothing.

Gin watched as Naruto disrobed completely, even taking off his boxers in his haste.

"Haha, Whoa trigger, no need to hurry," Gin laughed out in amusement as Naruto pulled out a pair of brand new clothes. He slipped on some new boxers, ones that fit him properly now, a new black shirt and some green sweatpants. He rushed into his room where there was a full length mirror hidden inside his closet. Opening the door, he admired his new attire. He literally shined with happiness.

"These cloths are awesome! They actually fit me, and they're clean and everything!" He shouted out with enthusiasm. Gin continued to watch the boy with interest, a small grin forming on his face (added onto his normal one). But he wasn't entirely happy. _'A kid shouldn't be that happy when getting somthin' as boring as cloths. They should be complainin' and makin' a big fuss. Only the absolutely desperate should act as happy as he is.'_ It was a sad thought, that Naruto _was_ absolutely desperate.

All the more reason Gin was doing what he was doing.

They evening passed on, and Naruto went to sleep in his brand new pajamas, his comfortable snores reach Gin's ears, even from outside. Gin looked at the door, raised his hand to it, and with a shimmer, a defensive spell blinked into life, covering the whole doorframe. _'That should be enough fer now.'_

With that he took his leave, and in the moonlight made his way to the Hokage's tower, his robes flowing in his wake. Gin rather enjoyed moonlit walks. He liked the night _period._ It was just his nature. His trip was uneventful; shops were closing for the night, while others were opening or changing shifts. The air was peaceful… content. It was very calm, with only the slight hum of voices from inside buildings and the light therein to light his way. The moon hung just above and slightly to the right of the tower ahead.

He opened one of the double doors in the front and stepped in. The cool air of the air conditioned interior washed over him and it was comforting from the humid, but not uncomfortable outside. The secretary was napping on her desk so Gin took the liberty to continue upstairs. He once again found the door to the office and knocked. The answer allowed him in and he closed the door behind him. He had some things to discuss with the Hokage.

* * *

The next morning came slowly to Naruto. He opened his eyes slowly, wincing as the bright sunlight shed itself on his face. He pulled the covers over his head and continued to sleep until his body finally woke up. Now, ready to get up, he pulled off the covers, and immediately became excited as he remembered his new cloths. He swiftly exited his bed and dashed over to his closet. He opened it up to see a whole assortment of clothing he'd been bought the other day. His smile reached from ear to ear as he gazed upon the assortment.

Once his reverie was over he began going through them to see what he would wear today.

It was about this time that Gin knocked on his bedroom door. "Just a second!" Naruto responded.

He finished pulling on his shirt and opened the door, standing proudly in his new outfit. Gin whistled in admiration. "Got some nice threads there don'tcha?" Naruto nodded excitedly.

He was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with a green, unzipped vest along with tan pants and the normal sandal-shoes that most people wore. The shirt itself bore and orange spiral in the middle of his chest. "Well? I look awesome, right?" Naruto said with enthusiasm.

Gin chuckled and nodded, slipping his hands out of their opposite sleeves. "You look like the coolest kid in town! But even the coolest kids need to eat. C'mon, I got breakfast waitin' for ya." Naruto jumped into the kitchen at the thought of food. On the table he saw, to his pleasure, a whole family sized pack of steaming ramen. Naruto quickly sat in his seat and grabbed the chopsticks. Gin also sat down and opened his own smaller cup of ramen. "Itadakimasu!" Gin chanted and began eating. Naruto for his part dove in and began inhaling the noodles as if they were much needed air.

The meal was over in minutes. Naruto sat back in his seat full. Gin chucked his empty cup into the trashcan and leaned back. "Oi, Naruto…"

"What?"

"Remember what I said the oth'r day 'bout you becomin' a ninja?"

Naruto fidgeted at that but nodded.

"You thought about it?"

Naruto looked down a little. His face was slightly crestfallen, but he looked up and nodded. "Yeah, and I want to become a ninja!"

Gin was obviously pleased. But his next question surprised the blond. "Why?"

Naruto blinked at him, his determined face disappearing. He remained silent.

"Becomin' a shinobi ain't a bad thing. The question is, _why_ do ya wanna become one? Just to face yer fears?"

Naruto looked at the Shinigami in surprise. Sure he _did_ want to rid himself of his fear of ninja, but was there really another reason? "I don't know... If I become a ninja, I can protect myself." That was a good enough answer… wasn't it?

Gin leaned forward and looked Naruto straight in the eyes. "Yer pretty young, so I don't expect you to know, but then again, I don't mind tellin' ya. I was your age when I learned it. There is only one reason you should try and gain power…"

"R-really? What is it?"

Gin placed a hand on the Naruto's head, ruffling his hair. Naruto's eyes widened as Gin's opened for the first time since their meeting. They were sky blue, almost luminescent. The piercing orbs seemed to delve straight into Naruto's soul. Like a sword to paper, Gin's eyes seemed almost to able to pierce through any one's lies or deception.

"…to protect the one's you love."

Naruto thought about that for a moment. First of all, he didn't know what love was. Second of all, there was no body he wanted to protect, probably because there was no one who he _needed_ to protect. Gin could see his confusion and chuckled. "Well, I s'ppose you'll understand it better when you're older. But in the mean time… " He reached into his cloak and pulled out a pair of green goggles. "…your academy classes start tomorrow." His grin widened as Naruto's eyes did the same. His small hand reached out to delicately pluck the goggles from Gin's hand.

"Y-you mean… I'm gonna be a ninja?" Naruto asked hesitantly. Sure he said he did, but that was totally different from _knowing_ you were going to be one.

Gin only smiled, as he always did. "Yep, yer gonna be a ninja."


End file.
